410-481-1570

May 08, 2008 |

I am getting more and more intrigued by the NBA playoffs. The Sun has set on Phoenix. The Spurs are on their heels. The Lakers are perfect, and Celtics are showing some holes. Let’s go around the Association for some news and notes:

Paul Making a Point: A great story is brewing in New Orleans, where Chris Paul is making an argument as the best player in the NBA, and he has most certainly passed Steve Nash and Jason Kidd as the best point guard in the league. He embarrassed Kidd in the first round of the playoffs and is making Tony Parker look like Eva Longoria thus far in the second round.

Hornets Giving Hope: What a job Head Coach Bryon Scott has done with the Hornets, who are making the Spurs look old and slow so far. This would be a great thing for the City of New Orleans which is still not back. I wonder if that team can survive long term in that city. It’s a great story and you can’t help but root for the Hornets. Anything that gives people in that beleaguered city hope is a good thing.

Taking The Night off: I can’t get over how many teams take the night off in the NBA Playoffs. You literally don’t know what to expect from night to night. I can understand in the regular season with travel and back-to-back nights, but the playoffs with sometimes two and three days between the games? This is inexcusable and possibly tells you something about the heart of some players in the league.

Could Baltimore Support an NBA Team: I go back and forth on this one. I am pretty sure that selling $45 upper deck tickets to see the Sacramento Kings on a Tuesday night would be hard even if we had a new arena next to Camden Yards. However, if the team marketed well, won, and did some good things in the community, it might be able to draw enough corporate support from the metro area to make it. Actually the creation of MASN might be a help. See the network has a giant hole in its schedule from November through April and an NBA team would be a nice addition. Plus it would give a new team a good revenue base. Pipe dream anyway, we are never getting a team as long as Washington or Philadelphia has one.

My Pick: The Los Angeles Lakers over Boston in six games; Kobe Bryant wins the MVP and Phil Jackson retires after winning his 10th NBA title, as the best coach in NBA history